Young women who read 'Fifty Shades of Grey' more likely to be self-destructive

Young women who read 'Fifty Shades of Grey' more likely to be self-destructive

Screengrab from YouTube showing a scene from the 'Fifty Shades of Grey' trailer.

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 25: Dakota Johnson is seen in the East Village on July 25, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Alo Ceballos/GC Images)

New York, USA. 12th Sep, 2013. Actress DAKOTA JOHNSON attends the New York premiere of 'Don Jon' held at the SVA Theater.

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MAY 03: E. L. James promotes 'Fifty Shades of Grey' at the Barnes & Noble on May 3, 2012 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Copies of the book 'Fifty Shades of Grey' by E. L. James are seen for sale alongside the book's sequels 'Fifty Shades Darker' and 'Fifty Shades Freed' at the Politics and Prose Bookstore in Washington on August 3, 2012. The first part of an erotic trilogy, 'Fifty Shades of Grey' has spent the past 22 weeks in the number one spot of the New York Times bestseller's list for fiction.

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By RYAN GORMAN

Young adult women who read "Fifty Shades of Grey" are more likely to be self-destructive than those who skip the steamy series, a new study has revealed.

Readers are prone to eating disorders, binge drinking and multiple sexual partners, researchers found. They are also more likely to have a verbally abusive partner.

The Michigan State Study did not specify if those women were engaged in destructive behavior before reading the books.

All are known risks associated with being in an abusive relationship, much like the lead character, Anastasia, is in "Fifty Shades," Amy Bonomi, Chairperson of Human Development and Family Studies at MSU, told Science Daily.

The book also served to negatively influence the behaviors of young women, Bonomi found.

"Likewise, if they read 'Fifty Shades' before experiencing the health behaviors seen in our study, it's possible the books influenced the onset of these behaviors."

Researchers polled 650 women aged 18 to 24 and found many troubling trends.

More than a third had partners who demonstrated stalking tendencies and three-quarters had starved themselves for at least 24 hours to lose weigh.

Almost two-thirds were likely to binge drink, five or more drinks in one night at least six nights per month, and about the same said they are likely to have five or more sexual partners in their lifetime.

Bonomi said the findings don't mean women should avoid reading the books, but that females should be taught to positively view themselves at a very young age.

The "Fifty Shades" trilogy has sold more than 100 million copies around the world and a movie based on the first novel in the series is set to come out next year.

A trailer was recently released for the highly-anticipated film. It debuts on Valentine's Day.